- Title: A timeline of Hong Kong since its 1997 handover to China
- Date: 21st June 2017
- Summary: POSTER WITH PICTURES OF MISSING BOOKSELLERS, READING (English, Chinese): "MISSING" Five Hong Kong booksellers went missing at the beginning of 2016. Fears that Lee Bo, 65, a shareholder of Causeway Bay Books and a British passport holder, was abducted from Hong Kong by mainland authorities revived fears that the city's autonomy was slowly eroding. The four other shareholders of the bookstore were last seen in Thailand and mainland China. Thousands of people marched the streets on January 10, 2016, demanding answers. Despite police investigations, little was revealed. On June 16, 2016, one of the five - Lam Wing-kee - gave a long, detailed news conference describing his abduction.
- Embargoed: 5th July 2017 02:50
- Keywords: Hong Kong Handover timeline politics election
- Location: HONG KONG, CHINA
- City: HONG KONG, CHINA
- Country: Hong Kong
- Topics: Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
- Reuters ID: LVA00B6M94APX
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:On July 1, Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend ceremonial events in Hong Kong to mark the 20th anniversary of the handover from British rule.
He is expected to perform the swearing-in of the territory's next Chief Executive-elect Carrie Lam.
Lam was elected in March this year by a 1,200-strong committee, stacked mostly with Beijing loyalists, to become the city's first female leader. She has vowed to 'heal social divisions' at a time when tensions with China are on the rise.
As the fourth chief executive since the former British colony returned to Chinese rule 20 years ago, Lam will need to restore the public's faith in the "one country, two systems" formula that promises extensive autonomy and freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland.
That principle has come under strain with what many residents see as creeping interference by China in the financial hub's legal affairs and freedom of speech, not least with the shadowy detention of five Hong Kong booksellers in late 2015 and Chinese-born billionaire Xiao Jianhua in January.
The city will be under heavy security for the handover anniversary, but that's not likely to deter the thousands of protesters expected to march in the annual anti-government protest. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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